The Job: Based on a True Story (I Mean, This is Bound to Have Happened Somewhere) / Craig Davis

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Author:

Craig Davis
was born and bred in Memphis, TN, land of Elvis and pulled pork, although
neither of them ever did him any good. After earning bachelor’s and graduate
degrees at the University of Missouri, he toiled for 20 years at newspapers,
and has spent a lifetime in biblical scholarship. An amateur musician, he was
once wrestled to the ground by a set of bagpipes. He is the father of two grown
daughters and owner of one dog who refuses to grow up.

Description:

“Joe B.” is
Vice President of Development of International Integration of Core
Technological Orientation (Emerging Nations Division) at Universal Whirligig –
that is, until a jealous coworker has him demoted to mail clerk....

Appraisal:

Davis
writes with colorful description, measured pace, and a careful balance of
comedy and drama, making The Job a
quick, easy read that is bound to please a variety of readers. That said, some
will no doubt have the same difficulty with this book as the one that
originally inspired it.

About a
third of the way in, it finally dawned on me that the trials and tribulations
of Joe B. were a modern retelling of Job. In retrospect, this seems rather
obvious (faithful servant is wrongly punished, perseveres and finds reward), so
either I need to start going to church more often, or the motif is simply too
common to pin on any one ancient belief system. The problem is likely a
combination of the two, since A) I am not a Christian, and B) Job is not the
first and only fictional character to experience a crisis of faith after
hitting a stretch of bad luck (see Sumer and Babylon for earlier examples).

There are
some fine bits of existential humor peppered throughout, which tend to pop up
in the titular character’s questioning of his employer’s (read: God’s) master
plan. Still, I could only take so many of these circular debates before I’d
heard enough about this “Big Boss” and his unquestionable, mysterious ways.

As I read
further, I had to wonder – is there even an analogy to be made between the
supposed creator of the universe and a company’s CEO? Do the better lessons of
the “Good Book” have any application to modern day capitalism? I’m certainly
not an expert on the subject, but I do seem to recall something about a rich
man, a needle, and a camel.... If the celestial penthouse of Universal
Whirligig is meant to symbolize Heaven, and the dreary basement mailroom is
meant to represent Hell (or at least Purgatory, as Joe B. thinks of it), then
what is the connection implied between riches and righteousness? While I
sincerely doubt that this was the author’s intent, the subtext is plain to see
– Christ and capital go hand in hand.

I can think
of one rabblerousing, Jewish hippy who might be inclined to disagree.

Given the
gravity of the source material, I also found it difficult to sympathize as much
with Joe B. After all, he is not half as beset with afflictions as the biblical
Job. Sure, he may suffer metaphorical
boils, and he certainly takes a pay cut in his fall from grace, but good health
and a living wage are still more than many Americans can boast these days. Even
after his demotion, he gets to keep his insurance and retirement benefits. Boo
hoo, right?

To be fair,
The Job does succeed in what it sets
out to accomplish – a clever, well-written remake of an old story. Ultimately,
though, it comes off as one very tenuous, very tedious parable. For all its
philosophizing, the moral of the story is deceptively simple: The boss is
always right, so you don’t question the boss. Coming from a religion based upon
obedience to patriarchy, this shouldn’t be particularly surprising. Then again,
as a 21st century writer, the least Davis could’ve done was finally
give “Job’s wife” a name.

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